


In Your Wildest Dreams

by Ithoughtyoulikedmereckless



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: College AU, Creative Writing and Photographer Jughead, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Speed Dating, bad boy jug, but only kind of, english teacher betty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-17
Updated: 2019-02-17
Packaged: 2019-10-30 12:38:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17828726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ithoughtyoulikedmereckless/pseuds/Ithoughtyoulikedmereckless
Summary: "Oh, Elizabeth. In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You mustn't keep me from telling you how ardently I admire you."Kill me why don't you.orWhen Betty goes to a speed dating event and ends up with last boy that she expected to be the Mr. Darcy to her Elizabeth Bennet.





	In Your Wildest Dreams

**Author's Note:**

  * For [makingitwork](https://archiveofourown.org/users/makingitwork/gifts).



> This is long overdue and I'm convinced the universe was plotting against me. I had this done for the beautiful makingitwork's birthday but then I read it over again and let me tell you...major yikes. After school and other dumb responsibilities got in the way, I have finally finished!!!
> 
> Happy Birthday Jazz:) I hope you enjoy. Love you<3

Betty sits in her early morning  _ Major English Writers of the 18th Century _ lecture, listening to her professor drone on about the elements of the romantic period and which elements are particularly strong in Austen and Brontë’s writings. It’s really quite a shame that their professor is halfway to the grave and has about as much excitement to her as a damp sponge, because this class had the potential to be  _ so good.  _

 

“Psst. B!” Veronica harshly whispers while nudging Betty not so subtly, trying to take her attention away from the rambling professor. Betty shushes her in fear of calling attention to themselves and rests her head on her hand, failing to block Veronica from view.

 

“But _B,_ look who—” Before Veronica can finish, the door to the lecture hall swings open and none other than _the_ Jughead Jones swaggers in. Betty can’t help the scoff that escapes her lips. His head is adorned with that ridiculous knitted beanie— _does he ever even wash that thing?_ _—_ suspenders hanging limply from his waist, with a worn leather jacket laying across his shoulders and a faded maroon t-shirt stretched deliciously across his chest underneath. _Wait. Deliciously? No, Obnoxiously! Obnoxiously. Yeah..._

 

Betty casts a quick glare at the raven haired girl in hopes of keeping her from saying anything. They have had this class exactly twice so far and Veronica has already named three of the children that she and Jughead will have. Obviously, Betty is over it.  _ Far _ over it. She loves Veronica dearly, but her almost excessive excitement over Betty’s nonexistent love life is overwhelming. 

 

Everyone on campus knows the name of Jughead Jones, but very few are  _ blessed _ with the opportunity of actually being friends with him. He’s the designated bad boy, which in turn means he has a plethora of girls at his every beck and call. Which again, in turn, makes him the farthest person from Betty’s desires. Okay, maybe not  _ the farthest _ , but she is definitely not interested. Legend has it that in his freshman year, he and his well-known best friend, Archie Andrews, were invited to the biggest frat party on campus. As  _ freshmen _ . Which is unheard of. At said party, they were immediately the center of attention, getting so wasted that it’s amazing they still have their livers. Anyway, the rest of the story is a little lost on Betty as she always changes the subject before people can finish. She’s not interested in knowing how two empty-headed neanderthals spend their time. Since then, practically everyone has kissed the very gravel that Jughead walks on. But not her.

 

A muffled, hoarse voice comes from the middle of the lecture hall, only getting closer. “Sorry, Professor Grundy. Weather and such, but you don’t really— Right. Okay. I’m just gonna—.” His hands wave around awkwardly before he finally slumps into a seat. One that is right behind Betty.  _ But of course. _ Maybe if she’s lucky, her eyes will fall out of her head from the amount of eye rolling this class is causing her to do, and she won’t have to see Jughead’s cocky smirk when asking the girls around him for a pencil. 

 

Just as Betty begins to focus on the lesson again, a hand slips onto her shoulder from behind and someone’s breath fans across her ear, sending chills through her body. “Hey Betts, can I borrow a pencil?” Betty doesn’t hesitate to flick his hand from its perch on her shoulder. Wordlessly handing him the pencil in her hand without giving him the satisfaction of looking at his face, she bites the inside of her cheek to stop herself from saying something overly snarky. “Thanks.” He sounds disappointed.  _ Good, get over yourself.  _ Betty grabs another pencil from her bag, settling in to listen once again. 

 

“ _ Ohmygod _ Betty! You just gave Jughead Jones a pencil! How do you feel?” Veronica says in playful mirth, nudging Betty’s arm once again.

 

Betty snarks back, sticking her tongue out at Veronica, and nudges her in return, “A little like slapping you, actually.” Veronica’s giggle is mixed with a choked snort from behind her. Betty can’t help the small smirk that comes to her lips. 

 

The class carries on fairly uneventfully after that. Betty spends the time scattering her favorite _ Pride and Prejudice _ quotes across the page while Veronica gives her a few knowing looks. Veronica always teases her for her love of the classics but she is going to school to become a high school english teacher. Of course Elizabeth Bennet is her hero. 

 

The professor finally finishes class five minutes after it was set to end. Betty begins packing up her stuff as Veronica goes on about the new guy she is crushing on in her economics class when they are interrupted by a throat clearing. Her attention is brought to the unsettled looking, leather clad boy behind her.

 

She gives him a small smile despite her annoyance with him, unable to let go of the manners her mother ingrained into her head. This seems to ease his nerves, his body slumping into his usual douchebag stance. 

 

“So. Betty. Would you maybe like to go out sometime, this week?” Jughead pushes his curls away from his face, making him seem indifferent to her answer. 

 

_ How arrogant can he be? _ She thinks, irritation suddenly surging through her. She slowly slides her backpack onto her shoulders and sweetly smiles at him. “I’m so sorry Jughead, I just don’t think I’ll be able to this week.” Without waiting for an answer, she starts heading down the stairs. In her peripheral she sees him jolt from his laid back position and scramble to grab his messenger bag. Veronica is hot on her heels, surely getting ready to pull an explanation out of Betty. 

 

“Wait, Betty! Wait.” Jughead is running down the steps rather clumsily, trying to catch up to her. She stops before stepping out of the doorway, raising an eyebrow at him. “What about next Wednesday?” His confident front slips away as he scrambles to find a date that will work for her. 

 

Betty shakes her head slightly. “Sorry, it’s one of my friend’s birthdays.” His face falls for half a second before he seems to remember himself.

 

“Who?”

 

Betty gives him another sugar-sweet smile over her shoulder before walking out. “I don’t know, but I’ll find someone.” She leaves without turning back, feeling a small swell of guilt in her chest for being so harsh. But, she thinks, he might need to be knocked down a couple pegs anyway. 

 

“Betty! What the hell was that?” Veronica is at her side in seconds. Betty just looks at her with a slight head tilt, pretending to be innocent. “That was a little harsh honey. And come on, Betty, he's perfect for you! You’ve got the pink bows and the sweet perfect girl next door thing going for you while he has the whole ‘rebel without a cause’ aesthetic. You complete each other! You are the raspberry to his dark chocolate.” Betty just squints at Veronica’s ridiculous analogy. “Don’t look at me like that, you know raspberry and dark chocolate is the perfect combination.”

 

Betty links her arm with Veronica’s as they walk back to their dorm. “Look, V. I...appreciate?” Veronica rolls her eyes playfully at Betty’s attempt, “your excitement, but I really don't know anything about him. And from what I do know, we wouldn’t be good for one another. Can you please just drop it?”

 

Veronica pats Betty’s hand. “Of course, Bettykins.” The blonde lets out a grateful sigh prematurely. “But only for today,” Veronica finishes with a devilish smirk. Betty’s head falls back in frustration.

 

“Ronnie, I have that speed dating thing at the local book store on Friday. Isn’t that enough? I’m putting myself out there like you wanted.” Betty widens her eyes in desperation. 

 

“You’re getting there, my sweet B. You are certainly getting there.” 

  
  


… 

  
  


Jughead lugs himself up to his dorm room, opening the door to a sweaty Archie doing push-ups in their doorway. Jughead, rather nobly, resists the urge to kick him out of the way and instead huffs in his general direction. “Seriously dude? You’re in the gym like 17 hours a day. Do you really have to do push-ups in here, like right in the way?” He throws his leather jacket to the floor and finishes by flopping onto his bed in defeat, hating the day.

 

Archie pauses and sits with his legs sprawled out on the floor, looking up at Jughead. “Oh. Did the whole Betty thing not go your way?” Jughead just grunts in response. “That well, huh. Well, there are plenty of other girls who would  _ love _ to jump you, man. Don’t worry about her.”

 

Jughead drags his face up from the pillow. “Arch, that’s not the point. Those girls like the bad boy facade that I somehow got freshman year and have, unbelievably, been able to maintain. Betty is smart, gorgeous, and passionate.” Jughead falls back onto his bed dramatically with a thump. “How is it even fair to have everything all in one bombshell of a blonde?”

 

Archie laughs, getting up to grab a gatorade from one of their three mini fridges. Really, they should just figure out how to bring a full sized fridge into their dorm room — but that’s another issue for another day. His laughter earns him a withering glare from Jughead. 

 

“Okay, tell me how the interaction went. It seriously couldn't have been as bad as you think it was.” Jughead shoots him a pained look and Archie gestures with his hand to continue as he chugs his gatorade. 

 

Jughead begrudgingly goes through his interaction, moment by moment, and by the end, Jughead has to keep Archie from choking on his drink. “Gee, thanks bud, you’re really making me feel  _ so much  _ better about this,” he mutters sarcastically.

 

Archie, laughing hysterically, wipes the tears from his eyes before responding. “I’m sorry bro, but she totally annihilated you.”

 

Jughead jumps off his bed and pushes Archie towards the door. “Get out,” he mopes. “I don’t want to look at your dumb face. Go hang out with your dudebros or something. Leave me to wallow in my self pity by myself.” Archie is too busy laughing to protest. Jughead throws open the door and shoves Archie out, slamming the door behind him for extra effect.

 

He returns to his bed and once again flops down face first, whining into his pillow since no one is there to hear him.  _ If only I hadn’t gone to that dumb party. _

 

… 

 

As soon as Archie is thrown out of his dorm by a very dramatic Jughead, he sends a text to Veronica, asking her to meet him at the Dunkin Donuts on campus. She quickly agrees, which leads to an uncomfortable Veronica in a cheap establishment way below her class and a giddy, almost dancing in his seat Archie. 

 

“So,” Veronica cleans down the table with a wipe she has produced from her purse with a grimace, “Please enlighten me as to why I’m here. Not that I mind seeing your cute face.” She throws him a wink, which only widens Archie’s goofy grin. 

 

“My man, Jug. He has an issue.” Before he can continue, a look of understanding crosses her features. 

 

“Ahh, and I’m guessing his issue is my girl, Betty?” Archie nods. “Yeah, I was there when he asked her out, and she was pretty brutal. Okay,  _ personally _ , I think they are perfect for each other, and I have already called dibs on being godmother to their first child. So they have to get together. It’s non-negotiable really.”

 

Archie chuckles at the extravagant girl in front of him and leans his elbow on the table, placing his head in his hand in order to get closer to her. “Alright Ronnie, I know you have a master plan. So let’s hear it.”

 

“Oh Archiekins, you know me so well I could swoon!” She puts a hand over her heart, always one with a flair for the dramatics. “Betty signed up for a speed dating thing at the local bookstore on Friday night. You need to convince Jughead to go and sweep her off her feet, but maybe don’t mention that she’s going to be there.”

 

Archie looks at her skeptically. “Jug rarely leaves the dorm. Sometimes not even to eat, which is  _ huge _ for him. He definitely wouldn’t leave for a speed dating thing. He hates socializing.”

 

Veronica brushes this off with her hand in the air. “Then mention Betty is going to be there. It’s not crucial that he doesn’t know. Just do what you have to do to get him to go. Lord knows he’ll be her best option there.”

 

Archie lets out a long breath. “I sure hope this works because self-pitying Jughead is literally the worst version of him.” Veronica opens her mouth to say something but Archie continues on before she has the chance. He points his finger in the air to make his point. “No, self-righteous Jug is the worst. Self-pitying is a close second, though.”

 

Veronica raises her eyebrows at him, unimpressed, “Can we move on now?” Archie gives a sheepish nod. “Okay, keep me posted on if he’s going or not, ‘cause the outfit I make Betty wear will vary on that.” She stands up and adjusts her purse onto her arm, then leans down and places a kiss to Archie’s cheek. “Toodles, Archiekins. And best of luck.” Veronica saunters out, leaving Archie to think of ways to con his best friend into taking part in his literal worst nightmare. 

 

… 

 

_ Friday _

 

“Archie, are you sure this is really necessary? You get girls without my help  _ all the time _ .” Jughead walks with slumped shoulders, hands far into the pockets of his leather jacket, his beanie placed securely on his head. He and Archie are making their way to the library because his easily excitable, ginger best friend had convinced him to be his wingman. Not that he even really needs one.

 

Archie throws his arm around Jughead jovially. “Like I said, Jug, she works at the library and is super into books and stuff, which is your specialty. I don’t think I could get her to be interested in me without your expertise.”

 

Jughead lets out a long sigh, giving Archie a slightly skeptical look. “Well, Arch, if you need me to make her interested then should you really be trying to date her? Don’t you want someone to date you because of what  _ you _ are interested in?”

 

“Gotta switch it up once and awhile, y’know?”

 

Jughead laughs. “It amazes me how different we are.” Archie flashes him one of his signature grins. “I hope you know my only motivation for doing this is to get your share of next month’s baked goods that your mom will send. Just so you know where my loyalties lie.” He bumps Archie with his shoulder, causing him to stumble into a metal trash can. 

 

Jughead scrambles to grab Archie’s arm before he falls  _ into _ the trash can, both laughing at one another. Archie brings his arm back from around Jughead and lets out a small laugh. “I hope that I’m at least second in your heart to food.”

 

Jughead shrugs indifferently, the smirk on his face giving away his jest. “Only when you’re not making me leave my dorm. When you make me do things, you get knocked to third place.”

 

They continue to walk down the street, passing a few other college students on the way to the brick building at the end of the town common. “We’re going to the library, Jug, it’s not like I’m bringing you to a party.”

 

“Yeah, yeah. Just because I’m doing it doesn’t mean I can’t complain. I have a brand to uphold.” Archie rolls his eyes and opens the door to the library for Jughead. “Oh Arch, what a gentleman.” Jughead says in mock astonishment.

 

“Chivalry’s not dead, my friend. Though it might die with you.” Jughead barks out a laugh, allowing Archie’s jokes to brighten his spirits. 

 

“Let’s just get this over with.” He mockingly grumps. They head into the library, and Jughead immediately stops in his tracks, Archie slamming into his back. The lobby to the library is strung with white LED lights with paper hearts hanging from various sections. Small tables litter the area, two chairs at each one. A giant, gaudy poster hangs from the front desk, splaying out the most painfully cliché phrase ‘Love Is In The Air’. There are about twenty people milling around, attempting to make small talk. Archie claps him on the back and continues to walk up to the front desk, throwing Jughead a shit eating grin over his shoulder. 

 

“Hello! I’m here for the speed dating event.” Archie tells the secretary, an older woman with a warm smile and soft creases around her eyes, at the desk.

 

“Oh wonderful, dear! And what is your name?” The woman eagerly positions her sharpie against the name tag, waiting for his answer.

 

“Jughead Jones, Ma’am.” _Oh_ _fuck that._ Jughead’s heart drops to the bottom of his stomach and his vision goes blurry for a second. He is going to kill Archie Andrews one day. He can see it now: _Red Headed All-American Boy Found Dead At The Hands of Childhood Best Friend._ Jughead quickly looks towards the exit, gauging how many bodies he’s going to have to hip check out of the way to reach the sweet, sweet relief of the night air. His plans are crushed when Archie slaps the horrid name tag onto the middle of his chest. 

 

“Dude, that lady didn’t even blink at your name. I think this is going to be your night.” Archie flashes him a giant smile that takes up his  whole idiotic face. Jughead just crosses his arms and tries his hardest to bore a hole through Archie’s head with his scowl. Archie grabs his shoulder and squeezes, probably trying to be comforting or something. Jughead just stares at his hand, refusing to give Archie the time of day. “Look, Jug, I know you’re probably planning my murder right now.” That actually causes Jughead to look up.  _ He knows me so well I could swoon. Who  _ am _ I? Veronica?  _ “But I did this for your own good. Betty’ s here and you’re going to sweep that blonde off her feet.”

 

Oh, his life couldn’t get worse, could it? “Archie! Are you kidding me? You brought me here knowing full well that Betty was going to be here? You realize I made an absolute  _ ass _ of myself just a few days ago, right? I need at  _ least  _ three months to recover from that.” Jughead’s arms flail around and his face heats, like he’s about to explode. 

 

Archie grabs Jughead’s face with his hands and squishes his cheeks, causing the words on Jughead’s tongue to die. “Shut up and listen. Betty is right over there.” He turns Jughead’s head in the direction of the many bookshelves, and sure enough Betty is amongst the stacks, looking just as beautiful as ever with a book in hand. Jughead feels his body sag at the sight of her. “You are going to get over yourself, shake off whatever bullshit is going through your head, and you are going to blow the socks off that girl with your charm.” Jughead looks back at Archie with a small grimace. “Do you hear me? I will not let you back into our dorm room without a victory. I know you can do this.” Jughead stands up taller, straightening his jacket and gives Archie a curt nod. As much as he hates his best friend (when he pulls stunts like this, at least), Jughead would really be jackshit without him. 

 

“Thanks man. I hate you,” Jughead says with a smirk, levity dancing in his eyes.

 

“Yeah, feeling’s mutual, sunshine.” Archie slaps him on the back once again and quickly makes his escape.

 

Jughead stuffs his hands back into his pockets, taking in his surroundings. Who is he kidding? Jughead can’t be bothered with the surroundings when a certain blonde is looking absolutely ethereal amongst the books. 

 

As if she can feel his eyes on her, Betty looks up to meet his gaze. Her eyes go impossibly wide and she slaps a hand over her mouth, book falling from her grasp. She doesn’t move an inch, seemingly shocked into place.  _ Great start, Jug. Great start. _

 

…

 

Betty had gotten to the library a half hour early, wanting to be able to explore the space a little bit. The library has become her safe place in the past two years she’s been at college. To be honest, she’s filled with dread at the impending event. Betty would much rather be in her dorm room in her matching PJ’s with a pint of ice-cream, watching one of Veronica’s overly cheesy rom-coms, but being here should win her at least a month of quiet from Veronica about her dating life. 

 

Betty walks through the stacks, letting her hand graze over the bindings in the classics section. Stopping at  _ Northanger Abbey _ , she gingerly selects it from the shelf and begins to thumb through the pages, searching for her favorite part. Betty presses her back to the shelf, crossing her feet, gingerly willing the nerves in her stomach to settle. 

 

She wore her favorite oversized green knit sweater over a white t-shirt tucked into an off-white skirt spotted with flowers, paired with her green flats. Veronica had wanted her to wear one of her outfits, but all of them screamed ‘Veronica’, which is exactly the opposite of ‘Betty’. She decided to stick to her sweaters. If a guy didn’t like them, would they really like her?

 

Betty gets lost in the words of Austen, not really knowing how long she’s been standing there. She can feel eyes on her, causing a shiver to run down her spine and breaking her focus. Looking up, she sees the absolute last pair of piercing blue eyes she was expecting. Her eyes go wide and she slaps a hand over her mouth, breathing out a “No...”, her book falling from her grasp, landing on the floor with a thump. _Veronica!_ _No wonder she was pushing that black dress so hard. Curse Veronica and her incessant matchmaking._ They have a silent stare off, the air between them charged with energy even from across the room. Jughead breaks eye contact first, eyes lowering to her lips and then flickering over her legs briefly. Betty ignores the silent thrill in the back of her mind. _Pig._

 

Betty manages to get a hold of herself and picks up the fallen book to put it in its rightful place. She begins making quick escape plans, but her thoughts are cut off when the secretary rings a bell. “Okay, love birds. It’s time to start and find the possible love of your life!”  _ Wow. Going right for it, are we? _ Betty holds back an eye roll and dutifully grabs a card from the table. “Girls, take a seat at the right side of any of the tables. Boys, once they take a seat, pick any table you feel like. When you hear the bell, start talking! You’ll have four minutes to talk until you hear the bell again, and then it’s time to move on. Once the date is over, mark if you think the person you talked to is a match for you or not. When all of this is over, if you marked a match with someone who also matched with you, make sure to get their numbers. Have fun, dearies!” 

 

Betty already hates everything about this. Selecting a table as far away from Jughead is her only concern at the moment, not really wanting to explore whatever it is Veronica sees in them.  _ Better to be safe than sorry. _ She selects a table near the back, hoping he is paying attention to the secretary and not her. Keeping her eyes down is the best possible way to avoid the weird electricity between them. It had to come from her hatred of him, right? Totally a thing. Hate electricity. Definitely.

 

A short guy with glasses approaches her table with a shy smile. “Hi, I’m Aaron. Mind if I start here?”

 

“Go right ahead.” Betty flashes him a practiced smile and brushes a piece of hair behind her ear. “I’m Betty, by the way.”

 

The bell rings, indicating the official start of their date. “So, are you a college student?” Aaron asks her. 

 

Betty nods. “You?”

 

“I am; I’m studying Biology. What about you?” He laces his hands together, making this seem far more like an interview than a date.

 

“I’m studying Secondary Education with a concentration in English.” 

 

Aaron cocks his head to the side slightly. “That’s pretty easy isn’t? English doesn’t seem all that intense.” Betty goes to disagree with him, but he puts his hand up and continues to talk. Her stomach twists in discomfort.  _ Wow this guy certainly took a turn for the worst, didn’t he? _ “Biology is quite the difficult major. You see, I have to take at least two labs on top of regular classes, which are also super challenging, studying STEM and all.” 

 

Betty’s mouth hangs open slightly.  _ This arrogant asshole. _

 

“I know, it’s pretty impressive, right? I’m doing really good in all my classes too. My GPA has never been higher.”

 

_ Actually, you’re doing ‘well’, asshat. But if English were so easy, you would know that.  _

 

Betty grits her teeth, knowing there isn’t much time left, and she really just needs this guy to leave. “That’s great. You must be very pleased with yourself.”

 

“Oh, you know, it’s not a big deal for me. But a lot of people struggle with it.” He has the audacity to wink at her. He’s about to say something else when the bell rings.  _ Thank God. _ “Well, it was nice speaking with you. Hopefully I’ll see you at the end?” Betty just gives him a tight lipped smile and immediately marks his name as a no match. 

 

This is going to be a very long night, and Jughead hasn’t even been to her table yet. 

 

_ …  _

 

Jughead tried to get to Betty’s table as quickly as he could without actually breaking into a run. Some jerk with a gray button down gets there first. Okay, he’s probably not a jerk, but he is getting in the way of Jughead winning Betty over, so he’s definitely a jerk in Jughead’s book. 

 

He looks around for a second, needing to get a table close enough to make it possible to get to Betty next. He sees a girl with cropped brown hair and wide brown eyes only few feet from Betty and makes his way over. “This table spoken for?” 

 

The girl gives him a bright smile. “Nope, all yours.” 

 

Jughead sits down, trying to gracefully fit his long legs under the table and failing miserably. The girl across from him giggles at his efforts and tries to hide it behind her hand. Jughead looks at her sheepishly and rubs the back of his neck, cheeks flaming in embarrassment.

 

“Hi. I’m Jughead. Obviously, I’m extremely graceful,” he says sardonically _ ,  _ holding out his hand to her, which she quickly takes. 

 

“I’m Midge. It’s nice to meet you.” She takes her hand back and crosses her arms. “So...Jughead is an interesting name. Is that your real name? Your parents couldn’t have hated you that much, could they?”

 

Jughead is immediately on edge. This stranger obviously doesn’t know anything about him, but within three seconds of talking to him, she has already touched on the two subjects he resents most. His answer comes out clipped. “What do you think.”

 

Midge’s eyes grow wide with apology. “Sorry, I was just joking with you!” 

 

Jughead regrets his tone and quickly goes to fix his mistake. “No, I’m sorry, that was really intense. I reacted horribly.” He rubs his neck again, cursing lack of social skills and really wishing Archie were here to save his floundering ass like usual. “But...uh…. Yeah, Jughead is a nickname. Almost no one knows my real name. It’s horrible.” He lets out a laugh that sounds very forced. It seems to be enough for Midge though, because she visibly relaxes and lets out a breath. 

 

Jughead takes the time to glance over at Betty. The gray button down guy seems to be dominating the conversation, and Betty looks like she is about to blow a gasket. Her jaw is clenched and the vein at her temple is twitching.

 

Midge says something, but Jughead completely misses what it is, too busy staring across the room. His head snaps back to Midge, who's looking rather displeased with him. He sheepishly drops his eyes to the table, only to bring them back to her a second later. “I'm sorry, can you repeat what you said?”

 

Midge rolls her eyes. “I asked what your hobbies are, but I think you’re far more interested in the blonde over there. Why don't we do us both a favor and just forget this? We have like thirty seconds left.” Her eyes scan the room, scowl planted firmly on her features.

 

Jughead mumbles an apology that’s cut off by the bell. They part without words. He makes a mad dash for Betty, but is again beaten by someone else. They go for five more rounds in which he manages to offend four out of the five girls he talks to. Keeping an eye on Betty, she looks like she’s about as over this as he is. Her head is resting in her hands as she speaks with the man currently in front of her, nodding along monotonously. The guy’s muscles bulge out all over and he keeps winking at her like his ridiculous act is actually impressing the incredible woman in front of him. 

 

The bell rings again, and Betty gets up and heads to the back. Jughead takes this as his moment to talk to her. She heads down the hallway and slips into the bathroom. Jughead feels a little weird now that he knows what her destination was.  _ So we’re just following women to the bathroom now, Jug? How classy.  _ Jughead stands there awkwardly, staring pathetically at the door, while he weighs his options in his head. 

 

Panicking, Jughead decides to pretend he’s got more chill than would ever actually be possible for him, so he leans against the wall, arms crossed and the sole of his shoe placed securely on the wall behind him.

 

_ Is this creepy? I feel like this is totally creepy. But will she think it’s creepy or somewhat cool? I’m just an idiot, aren’t I?  _ Jughead lets his head fall back in frustration.  She would probably ignore him any other way, and he really doesn’t want another audience for when she rejects him.  _ And so we wait. _

 

… 

 

Betty leans against the bathroom counter, staring at her reflection. She’s honestly amazed at the number of incompetent neanderthals that are at this thing. She expected maybe one or two, but really, it’s a library event! There should have been a greater number of intellectuals, but Betty’s guess is that this is the first time being in a library for many of them. Maybe she really should have just agreed to go on a date with Jughead. As much as it pains her to say, it probably would have been a lot more intellectually stimulating at least. He definitely wouldn’t spend the whole time staring at her chest like the last guy.

 

Betty had felt his gaze throughout the night, irritating her at first, but she was soon shocked when genuine concern was reflected in his eyes. He wasn’t just scoping out the competition like she had assumed him to be; he seemed to genuinely be anxious over her comfort, or lack thereof. When Jughead wasn’t watching her, Betty saw a different side of him. He was obviously horrible with people and had absolutely no idea what to do with his body when talking to them. He was really just a ball of dysfunction, which only made him more appealing to Betty. 

 

She rolls her eyes fondly. “Veronica really is a matchmaker.” Betty grabs her phone out of her pocket to call her meddlesome best friend. 

 

It rings twice before Veronica picks up. “Hey B, aren’t you supposed to be in the middle of a date or two right now?” There’s a voice in the background, but Betty can’t quite determine whose it is. 

 

“I just wanted to call you to say you were right.” Betty bites her lip, trying to contain the smile blooming at her face, knowing her best friend is about to lose it. 

 

“Wait, you have to give me more than that, Betty. I’m right about a lot of things. What is it specifically this time?” Veronica’s words pour out of her mouth rapidly while Betty chuckles into the phone.

 

“I’m going to let you try to figure it out. I’ll tell you everything when I get home. Love you V!” 

 

“But B, I—” Before Betty hits the end button, the voice in the background gets louder, and Betty shakes her head at the realization that it’s Archie.  _ Oh Veronica.  _ Betty hangs up and slides her phone back into her skirt. 

 

_ Just because you’ve decided to give him a chance doesn’t mean you can’t make him work for it.  _

 

Betty takes one final look in the mirror, smoothing down her skirt, and opens the door to the bathroom, hoping to slip back to her seat with little attention drawn to her. “Betty.” A deep, gravely voice makes her jolt, her hand coming up to steady her heart, when she realizes it’s just Jughead.

 

Jughead seems surprised at her shock and immediately drops his arms and throws them in front of himself, almost in panic. “Sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you.” His eyes are scanning across her face, seemingly trying to gauge her emotion. 

 

Betty feels a small smile come to her lips, and she places a hand on his arm. “It’s alright. I’m fine.”

 

He visibly relaxes at her touch.

 

“What are you doing back here, Jug?” shes asks, already having the slightest suspicion. 

 

His eyes quickly widen, and then he opens and closes his mouth a few times before settling on, “I...got lost.” His body cringes slightly as the words leave his mouth. 

 

Betty raises an eyebrow in challenge at him. “I didn’t think bad boys got lost.”

 

He runs a quick hand through the curls at his forehead, drawing Betty's gaze. He seems a bit nervous, but a smirk still lights up his face. "Unfortunately for me, Betts, I'm not a bad boy. So you can see how easy it would be for me to end up in here."

 

“Is that right?"

 

He takes a hesitant step towards her now, and Betty backs a bit further into the wall behind her, not willing to let him get too close.   
  
"Oh, absolutely. There isn't a bad bone in this body," he waves a hand to point to himself, "unless you'd like there to be." Her heart sinks at the return of his overly cocky attitude.

 

His eyes sparkle in the dull light that comes from above them, his gaze never leaving hers. “Oh, Elizabeth. In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You mustn't keep me from telling you how ardently I admire you.” Betty nearly goes weak at the knees. _ Kill me why don’t you? _

 

_ No, stop it, Betty _ .  _ Contain yourself, woman! Don’t give in that easily! What’s wrong with you?! _

 

Betty takes a slight step forward and moves her hands to his chest, leaning in closer, far too attracted to him for her own good. His gaze shifts to her lips briefly before those dark blue eyes return to hers. She slides her hands up to his shoulders, bringing her mouth millimeters from his. Jughead lets out a faint sigh and closes his eyes. Their breath mingles together, but before he can close the remaining distance, Betty chuckles lightly and moves back. “Better keep up, Jones. It won’t be that easy to win me over. Keep going, though; you might be onto something.” 

 

She disentangles her arms from his shoulders and allows her hand to trail down his arm, giving his hands a squeeze and biting her lip before walking away from him. Her head is buzzing. What a turn this night has taken. She stops briefly and looks over her shoulder at the wonderstruck man behind her. “Oh, and Jones? Maybe if you had been on time to the lecture, you would have remembered the quote correctly.” She gives him a wink before moving towards the exit. She slips out of the library doors without being detected, figuring there was no need to continue with the misery that was speed dating. 

 

As Betty expected, before she even makes it to the end of the block, the sound of hurried footsteps behind her echo through the quiet streets. “Hey, Betty! Wait up!” A smile comes easily to her lips. 

 

… 

  
_ Well damn. _ That went a lot better than Jughead had been expecting. The slap that he was sure to receive never came, and...was she flirting back? 

 

Jughead is definitely not in shape enough to be running down the street, but here he is, running down the street after the girl he knows is going to be the love of his life. Okay, maybe that’s a little premature given she’s never actually said anything very nice to him, but Jughead is nothing if not extra. 

 

“Hey, Betty! Wait up!” She stops, but doesn’t turn around. He finally reaches her and immediately collapses, his hands falling to his knees. Gasping for breath in front of her is not his finest moment in life, but when has anything ever been conventional with Jughead Jones? He hears the soft giggle he loves so much come from Betty and then a hand on his back, rubbing small circles.  _ I can die happy. Betty Cooper has made physical contact with me twice now.  _

 

He straightens up and is pleasantly surprised to be met with a brilliant smile. Flutters attack his chest. “Do you think I could walk you back to your dorm?” His hands stuff into his jacket pockets once again. 

 

She puts her hands on her hips and takes a step closer to him. “That depends on your answer to my question.” He arches an eyebrow at her. “Why do you want to take me on a date?”

 

_ Um? How about the fact that you are insanely smart, drop dead gorgeous, have the spirit of a wildfire, and love classic novels?  _ He could say a number of things, but he says what initially drew him to her. Jughead’s hand leaves his pocket in order to rub the back of his neck, his gaze fixed on a pebble in the middle of the sidewalk. “You seem like the type of woman to be silently correcting everyone’s grammar, but are far too kind to actually tell them.” His gaze meets hers at the end of his words, and the smile that splays across her face tells him he answered correctly.

 

“I guess you could walk me home,” she says teasingly. 

 

He smiles widely at her, and they carry on down the road. “You know, I do remember that quote correctly by the way.” 

 

“Oh really? I don’t know if I believe you.” She smirks up at him.

 

“Oh, I very much do. You just make me nervous, causing my head to spin.” He nudges her gently with his shoulder.

 

She giggles again, and gosh he could get used to being the cause of it. “You’re so dramatic.”

 

They wander on, talking about everything and anything, from their majors to the weird foods they eat when stressed to what color pen they like to write with best. Jughead explains to her the whole debacle of freshman year and that his ‘bad boy’ persona is the total opposite of his true personality. She softly mutters out a fond, “You idiot.” His heart squeezes at her tone. Their hands brush against one another, electricity passing between them.

 

All too quickly, they arrive at her dorm. “So, this is me.” She glances up at her building. “Thanks for walking me home, Juggie.” Jughead swears there’s a blush gracing the apples of her cheeks, but it’s dark, and he really can’t have been that lucky, could he?

 

“Anytime, Betts. It was my pleasure.” Betty hesitates for a second, eyes dropping to his lips, before she ultimately moves away from him. Jughead quickly grabs her hand before she can move any further. He brings her back to him, holding her hand against his chest. Her emerald eyes shine in the moonlight. “Will you go on a proper date with me? Please?” Jughead doesn’t care that he’s basically begging her. Who needs dignity when getting a date with Betty Cooper?

 

She leans up on her tiptoes, her plush lips grazing his cheek. Moving away, she smiles up at him.  “I’m giving you a maybe.” He can feel his face fall. “That’s a whole hell of a lot better than I was giving you before,” she says with a cute giggle. “Just...stop trying so hard. I like the you that’s underneath the leather. Just relax.” She waves to him before disappearing into her building. 

 

_ Wow. What a woman. _ Jughead makes his way through campus and back to his building with a renewed bounce to his step. 

 

… 

 

It has been two days since Jughead had walked her home, and Betty can’t get the sweet, brooding man out of her head. She is slightly kicking herself for not getting his number, although she knows that Veronica could easily get it from Archie, getting it to her in less than a minute, but she doesn’t want Veronica involved just yet. She wants Jughead to herself for a little while. 

 

Her classes are done for the day, and it’s a particularly nice day out so Betty decides to find a lovely tree in the quad and read for a bit. She has her favorite worn copy of  _ Pride and Prejudice _ open above her head as she lies in the grass. Betty’s about twenty pages in when she hears a rustling in the tree above and then the very distinct sound of a branch snapping, followed by an unceremonious, “Oh shit!” A loud thump and a groan comes from the heap of limbs that has fallen next to her. Lowering her book, Betty looks over to see Jughead lying on the ground, his eyes closed and his camera around his neck. 

 

Betty can’t help the snort of laughter that leaves her. “What do you think you’re doing, Jones?”

 

Jughead’s eyes snap open in realization of who he almost fell on top of. He opens his mouth, but then stops, and a look of mirth crosses his face. “Falling for you.” His eyes sparkle, and his entire face lights up.

 

_ He’s beautiful.  _ “You’re such a dork.” The giggles are falling out of her, and she can’t seem to stop them. Betty is overcome with fondness for the clumsy and wonderful guy next to her. Placing her book down beside her, she moves over to him, placing a kiss to the corner of his mouth. 

 

Jughead’s eyes widen comically before he jolts into action. His hand grips the back of her neck to keep her in place. “Can I kiss you, Betty?” His breath fans across her lips. Warmth fills her body and she gives him a soft nod. 

 

Jughead searches her eyes one more time before closing the distance between them. He smiles into the kiss, the meeting of their lips igniting instant sparks. Betty sighs into it, only encouraging Jughead. His hand remains on her neck while the other one moves to her waist, bringing her closer. Once they part, Betty nuzzles his nose with her own.

 

A massive smile engulfs Jughead’s face, one that reaches his eyes and could arguably be described as even reaching his ears. Betty’s hand comes up to stroke his face. “You know, I like this smile a whole lot better than that stupid smirk of yours.”

 

Jughead responds with a kiss to her nose. “Me too.” They stare at each other for a few seconds, enjoying the magic of their moment.

 

Jughead breaks the silence. “This means you’ll go on a date with me, right?” He looks a little unsure, and Betty lets out a breathy laugh.

 

“Yes. I will absolutely go on a date with you.”

 

“Good, because it just wouldn’t be fair if Elizabeth Bennet didn’t end up with her Mr. Darcy.” 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm still not sure I'm 100% in love with this but I couldn't stew on it any longer. I hope you liked it:) Let me know what you thought!
> 
> Tumblr: ithoughtyoulikedmereckless


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